Girl key player for Toms River Little League team

TOMS RIVER, N.J. — As the only female on the 13-player Toms River Little League All-Stars, Kayla Roncin has become a star in her own right. Her team is climbing toward a possible Little League World Series berth and the media attention is turning toward the tall 12-year-old. The athlete with the long brunette ponytail is a powerhouse in a sport usually considered a boys-only club.

"There's always going to be somebody who says something about it, but you just gotta keep playing," Kayla said.

Her coaches say Kayla has ignored the snickers and smirks of opposing teams as she has taken the field, where she quickly proves her skill and silences any initial critics.

"You always get the whispers and the stares and the pointing, but once the game starts, it doesn't become a novelty anymore once they see she can play," said Pete Avallone, the team's manager.

She can pitch and she has speed on the bases. Kayla's a core player for a team that is 2-0 in the Mid-Atlantic Regional heading into Tuesday's game against Maryland in Bristol, Conn.

Kayla has spent more than half her life playing baseball; she started with T-ball at age 5, said her father and assistant coach Ray Roncin. Since she was 8, Kayla has played for teams coached by Avallone.

Teammate Nick DeRose believes Kayla is treated no differently by opposing pitchers than other boys on the All-Stars.

"I just think, maybe they try not to hit her, maybe?" he said.

Teammate Jonathan Giordano added: "I know that if I gave up a hit to a girl, it would be embarrassing."

Kayla needs no encouragement to stay and play on the traditionally boys' team, said Ray Roncin. "She's strong-minded. She likes the competition." Any comment about her gender "makes her step up her game up even more. I really don't have to guide her at all, because she does it all on her own."

Kayla is not the only girl to play Little League in Toms River, but the first he has known to advance so far with such skill, Avallone said. She is 3-for-3 in the first two games of the regional.

Kayla's passion for baseball started while watching a Yankees game with her father.

"It looked like a lot of fun to play, so I wanted to start," Kayla said.

She said she has faced no pressure for being one of the only female players in a mostly male sport. Kayla also plays girls basketball and softball, and said she notices no differences in playing on girls' or boys' teams.

According to the website About.com, 12 girls have played in the Little League World Series, the first in 1984.

Though more girls are trying Little League, college and professional baseball teams are still a men-only sport. The last women's professional baseball league disbanded in 1954.

In time, Kayla's coaches believe that she will leave baseball and move onto a women's softball team. So far, softball has not excited her like the competition she experiences on the All-Stars, Ray Roncin said.

She turns 13 in October and starts seventh grade this fall. Though she is one of the tallest players on the team at 5-9, the advantage will not last much longer, her father said.

"She's going to eventually plateau out, and the boys are going to get bigger and stronger. I just think with the locker room situation, general scenario, I don't think she'll ever play at a college level," Ray Roncin said. "I just don't think as she gets older, there will be a place for her on a boys baseball team."

Kayla has accepted this, said her father. For now, she is just focused on winning in her time left to play for the All-Stars, he said.

"To me, she's the most inspirational and courageous kid I've ever been around ... to be the only girl at this high level that we're playing right now," said Avallone. "I'm sure there have been some rough times for her ... (but) she's kept her head straight and played some great baseball."